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Forgotten Soldiers
photographic piece of a Gilgamesh Free State resistance fighter that is often credited by historians with sparking the romanticizing of the Forgotten Soldiers |active= * -2563 ( ) * -2565 ( ) |body= |branch= |type= resistance cells |role= |part of= |garrison= |motto= |battle= }} The Forgotten Soldiers was a name given to rebel soldiers, particularly on the colonies of and , who continued battling the forces on their planets even after the fall of their respective governments. While they were, for the most part, initially considered no different from other , with the entering of the photo Forgotten into the running for the in . Apart from the photo's appeal to pro colonial independence advocates of a lone rebel soldier against the odds, the controversy surrounding a photo of an Insurrectionist soldier and whether the photo had been faked quickly propelled these fighters into the public eye. They quickly became the objects of myths and tales of heroism, some true, some complete falsehoods by journalists looking for more to read their stories. Despite the romanticizing of the Forgotten Soldiers, the reality of their lives was a far cry from the myths seen by the public. While there were elements of truth in the public's perception of the Forgotten Soldiers as beating back UNSC military forces on their planets, often their true tactics, as they were fighting what they saw as an ideological war, were radically different. Assassinations of local pro-UNSC leaders and officials were commonplace, as were bombings of government offices. While the UNSC, with the aid of the , mounted extensive campaigns to attempt to root out these resistance fighters, they were never successful. It was only in 2565 that the last engagements that could be conclusively proven to be against the Forgotten Soldiers occurred. Despite this, the Forgotten Soldiers had a lasting impact as heroes of the Insurrectionist cause, with other militant groups adopting their symbolism, and even peaceful pro-independence political parties holding them up as role models of colonial tenacity for autonomy even in the face of the odds. History Formation Victoria resistance fighter for use in UNSC simulations. The model's appearance was developed developed off of field reports by UNSC personnel fighting on Victoria.]] Gilgamesh The formation of anti-UNSC rebel resistance groups from former Gilgamesh Free State soldiers and militia began as the UNSC-GFS War in was coming to an end. When Ira Philips called a ceasefire to discuss terms of surrender with the UNSC, most Gilgamesh Free Armed Forces units were ordered by their commanders to split up and head into the wilderness to continue the fight if they could. The first known attack by the Gilgameshan resistance fighters was on October 12th, only a day after the signing of a surrender document officially bringing the war and the Gilgamesh Free State to an end. The attack was by a company-sized unit of GFS fighters, believed to be mainly from the Gilgamesh Light Infantry, on a UNSC Marine Corps unit tasked with rounding up rebel soldiers from the 27th Infantry Regiment, stationed just outside of the settlement of Peachbrook, and bringing them to prisoner of war facilities on the planet. The UNSC troops, unprepared for an attack by an enemy they thought had been defeated, were thrown into disarray, and in the chaos, allowed an unknown amount of rebel soldiers and officers to escape to either join the resistance bands or return to civilian life without being interrogated and possibly forced to give up information to the UNSC. Over the next year, attacks such as prison raids decreased in frequency as the UNSC moved prisoners off-world for interrogation and detainment, and were instead replaced with assaults on UNSC headquarters or offices and homes of the colonial authorities. However, the attacks were relatively rare, with the majority of actions being defensive ones against UNSC search-and-destroy detachments. However, the frequency of offensive actions increased dramatically in when, in violation of the terms of surrender they and the Free State had agreed to, the UNSC did not release the officers and men taken prisoner during the UNSC-GFS War. With the civilian populace once again stirred with rage, the support for the rebels on Gilgamesh rose to a new height. This new cooperation allowed for the formation of the Gilgamesh Underground State, a new network that allowed for planning of large operations and cooperation between units, as well as long-term objectives. Due to fear of ONI penetration of the network, the only personnel permitted to interact directly with the leadership of the Underground State were fighters who had served in the Gilgamesh Free State's armed forces during the invasion, or who were, without a shadow of a doubt, not ONI agents. Other fighters were left on a need-to-know basis. These tactics were surprising effective, as ONI was never able to fully penetrate the GUS's network. The most famous example of these attacks was on March 3rd, , the two-year anniversary of the UNSC's initial invasion of Gilgamesh, when a unit of GFA fighters launched an assault on the planetary field headquarters in New Belgrade, killing several ONI agents and seizing several pieces of intelligence relating to planned pacification operations. The success of this operation was mainly due to the fact that the civilian population had been roused to have a march in New Belgrade on that day to protest against the fact the UNSC had still not released the GFS's captured officers and men. As hoped, the military forces on the planet were ordered to keep the crowd under control, leading to further anger, and eventually it escalated into a full-scale riot. In the chaos, a group of resistance fighters, outfitted in plainclothes, made their way to the ONI field headquarters, and launched a surprise attack, catching the guards unaware. While the rebels sustained heavy casualties, with an estimated fifty percent of the attacking force killed,In 99% of recorded cases, GFS resistance fighters on 'high risk' operations were found to have killed themselves rather than be captured by UNSC or ONI forces.it was still a stunning blow to the UNSC. While these attacks continued for some time, in November , the UNSC finally released a number of the captured GFS personnel. However, this did little to quell the resistance on the planet, as many began to ask where the rest were. Even though family and friends were receiving letters from their loved ones, many began to fear the worst had happened to the remaining POWs, many of whom were company-grade officers. As a result of this uptick in resistance and trained soldiers having been released from captivity, stepped up surveillance. While it was not on every former prisoner of war, deep-cover agents planted all around Gilgamesh looking for any signs of a resistance band being created and reporting said findings back to their superiors caused many upstart resistance bands to be quickly snuffed out, leading to rumors that every released POW was under surveillance. While ONI's operations did not completely halt the creation of rebel units on the planet, it made it much more difficult. Among the units that would later be known as the 'Forgotten Soldiers', it meant that while they sometimes received new trained fighters, they, for the most part, remained made up entirely of the original members. This was due to the fact that the soldiers had to be trained to a high degree of skill to not be a liability in combat, and not only did the training have to be conducted with the utmost of caution, but even recruiting new fighters had to be done with caution to ensure they were not under surveillance or were ONI plants. While this led to a lack of new recruits, it was by no means the end of the resistance's operations. 'Forgotten Soldiers' Moniker Ideological Impact Notes Category:Safe Havens